Magnetic levitation (or “maglev” as it is known) is a method of transport that moves vehicles in magnetic suspension along a guideway. Maglev can be faster, quieter, and more efficient than conventional railroad. Moreover, maglev eliminates the wear and vibration from the steel-on-steel contact of conventional railroads thereby greatly reducing right-of-way maintenance.
The infrastructure needed for maglev is completely different than current railroad track infrastructure. That is, maglev vehicles cannot operate on conventional railroad tracks nor can conventional rail vehicles operate on maglev guideways. This incompatibility greatly impedes introduction of maglev since it implies the need for completely new infrastructure. This issue is especially challenging in urban areas where obtaining new right-of-way is difficult and expensive.
One approach to the incompatibility problem is to add maglev guideways to conventional railroad tracks. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,953,996 and 6,085,663 disclose the additional mounting of maglev guideway components on the ends of a conventional railroad track's ties. With this modification, conventional railroad vehicles can still use the railroad track, while maglev vehicles can straddle the conventional railroad track and operate on the surrounding maglev guideway rails. The disclosed approach allows maglev and conventional rail vehicles to share the same right-of-way. However, addition of the maglev guideway components to the conventional railroad track complicates routine track maintenance and adds cost and complexity to the entire rail line.